Allow Tamils issue to be discussed in UNSC: LTTE to China

T V Sriram

Colombo, Mar 21 (PTI) Confined to a small pocket of
land in Sri Lanka's northern region, the LTTE has appealed to
China to allow the ethnic Tamils issue be discussed at the UN
Security Council for a second time.

Tamil Tigers Political Head B Nadesan appealed to
China not to ignore the plight of the Tamil civilians in the
island's north.

"We urge China, Russia and all the powers of the world
not to ignore the plight of the civilians who face a genocidal
war by the Sri Lankan state," Nadesan told pro-LTTE website
TamilNet.com Friday.

His remarks came in the wake of reports that China was
not in favour of a second UN Security Council meeting on the
Sri Lankan ethnic crisis, given Beijing's close relationship
with Colombo. China extends financial support to a number of
infrastructure projects being executed by Sri Lanka.

Nadesan said the LTTE was willing to explain the
plight of the Tamils to Chinese authorities.

"The Sri Lankan state is not only denying the Tamil
sovereignty, but it is waging a genocidal war against them of
catastrophic dimensions," Nadesan was quoted as saying by
TamilNet.

Nadesan charged Colombo with engaging in a "propaganda
campaign that the conflict is an internal matter."

Nadesan said denying medicines, humanitarian supplies
and the "deliberate, inhuman targeting of civilians constitute
serious war crimes and crimes against humanity on the part of
the Sri Lankan state."

During the recent visit of Chinese foreign minister
Yang Jiechi here, his Sri Lankan counterpart Rohitha
Bogollagama assured full support to China's policy towards
Taiwan and Tibet.

Aid agencies say more than 200,000 civilians are
caught in the war between the Sri Lankan Army and LTTE in the
island's north, but the Government contradicts the figure and
says the number is only around 70,000. PTI